


Just Breathe with Me

by WatercolorHummingbird



Series: The "Just Me" Series [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Bartender Louis, Cesarean Section, Childbirth, M/M, Mpreg, Mpreg Harry, No Smut, Surprises, Trans Harry, Trans Harry Styles, Trans or MPreg take your pick, Weddings, labor, larry stylinson - Freeform, side Ziam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:33:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28062468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WatercolorHummingbird/pseuds/WatercolorHummingbird
Summary: “Louis, please stop telling me not to panic. I can feel how I want.”"I know. Now, come on... Let’s go have our baby.”Harry stared at him for a mere moment before big, blubbery tears formed in his eyes.“We’re gonna be daddies, Lou!” He sniffled and as he reached down to wipe his cheeks, he lowered himself just enough for Louis to place a quick kiss on his forehead.“That we are, love. But we can’t waste any time, okay? You can cry in the car.”or... Louis is at work when Harry goes into labour a little early - and it's not the only surprise either of them experience that night.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Series: The "Just Me" Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2055687
Comments: 5
Kudos: 43





	Just Breathe with Me

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone loves Larry with a little bit of side-Ziam. Please keep in mind this is all obviously fictional and absolutely no disrespect is intended towards Maya or Gigi, as they both seem pretty damned cool. It's just Ziam as a concept is adorable and I love writing them in a fictional capacity.
> 
> As with my first fic in this series, Harry's character can be read as a trans man or Mpreg, whichever you prefer.
> 
> Also, I've never had a c-section so if anything is incorrect about the procedure, please let me know (politely) in the comment.

_Can you get me McDonald’s on your way home tonight? I don’t feel good._

_Don’t feel good how?_

_Kind of tired and nauseous._

_And you think a Big Mac is gonna help? LOL_

_Please?_

_Okay will do love - should be home by two_

Harry texted Louis back a simple thumbs up and a heart eyes emoji.

The nighttime rush at their bar was over, and only about ten or twelve people lingered, leaving him and Zayn to finish up the evening. The pub was quite fashionable and popular - and the money was damn good.

Liam, the new bar manager, was a quiet, strict type and it wasn’t long before he heard him shouting across the place.

“Off your phone, Malik!”

Zayn stomped a foot and scoffed, tossing his tattooed arm in Louis’ direction.

“Why’s Tommo get to be on his all the time, then?”

“Because he’s gonna be a dad any day now. Special privileges!” Liam barked and Zayn rolled his eyes, putting the device back in the pocket of his dark jeans.

“It’s bullshit.”

“You don’t like it? Knock someone up then,” Louis chided, sticking his tongue out as he finished mixing some bright blue monstrosity for the bachelorette party that still occupied his corner of the bar.

“Not ready for that, mate.” He winked, “But I have been enjoying practicing.”

“You gonna let me meet this mysterious lover of yours anytime soon?” Louis asked, only to be met yet again with a shaking head. Zayn was one of his closest friends, but had always been a secretive lad, especially when it came to his love life. Louis hadn’t even known that Zayn was dating one of their former coworkers, a beautiful girl named Perrie, until she quit out of nowhere after he’d broken things off.

Zayn was gorgeous and capable of breaking hearts at the slightest glance. It was one of the reasons he brought in so much clientele and made the kind of tips he did. Louis’ partner in crime, the two of them able to drain the pockets of half of London through the centuries’ old combination of charm, wit and booze. Recently, however, he had become a bit more reserved in his flirtations with guests, leading Louis to believe he had a little something going on.

“We’re almost done for the night, I’m gonna go get started shutting down. Be in my office if you need me,” Liam stated before quickly heading down the brick hallway of the pub. He’d only been their boss for six weeks, but was doing an impeccable job.

Both he and Zayn nodded as Louis printed the Bachelorette party’s individual checks.

“What time do I need to get there on Saturday?” Zayn asked. Louis and Harry’s wedding was scheduled for that weekend and Harry had been running himself ragged with the last minute plans, desperate to be married before their baby arrived. They were cutting it close at a mere month ahead of time, but it was important to him. It was important to Louis, too, but only because making Harry happy was his entire life. He would be happy getting married in a courthouse, but the boy from Cheshire had arranged for them to be married on the rooftop of their building - just a few family and friends followed by drinks and dancing and partying in their flat. He had been nesting anyway, so cleaning beforehand was no issue.

“I think Harry’s sister wants to start doing the pics of us getting ready at like, four? Ceremony’s at six.”

Louis wouldn’t tell him, but he had secured a reservation for that night at a very fancy nearby hotel and his sisters had volunteered to clean up after the party.

“When’s he due again?”

“A month. But he _technically_ could go any time now. We’re just trying to get the official shit taken care of beforehand.”

“Ya nervous?” Zayn followed up, suddenly fidgety, twisting the spouts on the taps.

“Nah,” Louis shook his head. “I’ve got four little sisters and me mum’s got two more on the way. Been around babies me whole life. If anything, Harry’s more of a wreck than I am.”

“You two will be great, I know it,” Zayn heaved a loaded sigh as his phone buzzed at his side. Looking around for Liam, he quickly checked the device. He failed to hide a smile but shrugged before speaking. “I’m gonna go grab a smoke. Is that alright?” And Louis nodded. Zayn had come in about an hour before him, so he was set to clock out first, but Louis didn’t mind. He had three paid months of leave to look forward to.

The last of the pub’s patrons paid out and left, leaving him to begin wiping down the countertops and soaping the glasses down. It was blissfully quiet - the overhead music being the only thing filling the silence. He enjoyed the silence for a moment, knowing that in a few days, he would bid goodbye to silence for several, several years.

He couldn’t wait.

They still had not yet found out the baby’s physical sex, Harry steadfastly putting his foot down that he wanted to be surprised. Placing the glasses on the drying rack, Louis bent down and pulled up the risen bar-floor covers, wrinkling his nose as he took them to the back to hose them down and stack them, allowing them to dry in the morning. He didn’t have much left to do except cover the liquor and prep the bloody mary mix for the morning, so he didn’t think Liam would mind if he answered his phone while wiped the counter down.

“Hello gorgeous…” He cooed, having seen Harry’s name before he answered.

“Something’s wrong!” He heard his fiancé desperately cry on the other end of the phone.

He nearly dropped the bottle of tomato juice in his hands as ice flushed through his veins.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know! I just… I thought they were just normal cramps like maybe I had to use the bathroom but they won’t stop, Louis....”

“Do you think you’re in labor?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never had kids before but I’m literally biting my lips to keep from screaming. They hurt so bad- I don’t KNOW. They say you’ll know.”

“Harry. Are. You. In. Labor?” Gratefully - luckily - Louis’ panicking soulmate took a few moments to breathe and think.

“...Yes. And if I’m not, I don’t know what labor is supposed to feel like. Because if it’s worse than this, I’d rather die.”

“Okay,” Louis finally caught air in his lungs, exhaling slowly as he closed the lid on the keg of mix. “Just relax. Breathe. You’re doing fine and you’re okay and our baby is okay.”

“Okay.”

“Alright, I’m gonna find Liam and Zayn and make sure Zee can cover me. I’m coming home. Do you have your bag packed already?”

“I have the baby’s stuff already packed. I don’t have mine.”

“Just grab your essentials and I’ll have either of our mums or Niall grab what we forgot.”

“Okay. Can you be home quick?”

“As quick as I can, love. I’m gonna go find Zee. I’ll text you when I’m on my way.”

“Okay. I love you.”

“Love you too, Haz,” and he clicked the end button.

_Fuck. Oh fuck. He was going to be a father. They were going to be dads. Oh fuck._

Louis rushed away from his spot behind the bar, practically sprinting through the pub in order to find Zayn in their dedicated smoke spot behind the dumpster. Did they occasionally also smoke weed back there? Yes. Had Liam caught them more than once and seemed more annoyed than angry? Yes. But he was always forgiving and so long as their guests were happy, so was he.

He threw open the door to the back, rather surprised when there was… no one. What the Hell?

“Zayn?!” There was no response. “Zayn?”

He peeked around the dumpster and found no one. This was where they always smoked. Where the fuck…

“Zayn, mate! Harry’s in labor. I’ve got to go! Where are you?!”

Crickets. It was cold, so of course there were fuckin’ crickets.

“Zayn what the fuck?!” He screamed, frustrated and slamming the exterior door. His second resort was finding Liam. Maybe Liam knew where Zayn was - or at least he could cut out and if Zayn was wanking somewhere, he could still make the birth and it wouldn’t be his _job_ to find Zayn.

He angrily and frantically stomped towards Liam’s office, not pausing for a second before he ferociously shoved the door open. And his brain broke on the scene before him.

Both Zayn and Liam were shirtless and breathless and their lips were chapped and red from snogging. Zayn was on his knees, painted fingernails hooked into Liam’s belt beneath his khakis.

Liam sucked in alarmed breath upon seeing Louis before shoving Zayn away from his crotch.

“Oh my God, Zayn, ew! Fuck! Get off of me! God!” He turned to Louis. “Sorry… thank God you showed up.”

Louis managed to withdraw his hanging mouth in enough time to visually spy Liam’s incredibly, raging erection peeking out of his baby blue boxers as he struggled to tuck it away.

“Yeah, mate, you look like you hated it.”

“Louis, come on…” Zayn sighed, standing up and pulling his shirt out from underneath the desk as Louis - God help him - started snapping photos in a rapid burst. “MATE WHAT THE FUCK?”

“Louis, the hell-” Liam shouted, reaching for his phone as Louis yanked his arm back, e-mailing them to himself.

“I want…. I want one extra month of parental leave.”

“...are you fuckin’ serious right now?”

“Or I could let the owner know his bar manager is shagging his employees…”

“Louis, NO!” Liam yelped, reaching out once again. “Didn’t you say Harry was in labor?”

“You HEARD me? And yet you were still racing to poundtown?”

“Louis….”

“Email me. In writing. Right now. Or this picture becomes public domain,” he mocked, pretending to text several contacts.

“Fine! Shit! Alright…fuck,” Liam glared at him. “Shouldn’t you be rushing home?”

“Opportunity doesn’t knock twice. Zee… can you wipe down the bar?” An e-mail from Liam pinged into his e-mail. Upon reading, Louis smiled.

“Wow. I’m impressed.”

“Yeah, well I’m a fast typer.”

“No - I meant because your cock is actually pretty damned big.”

“LOUIS!” Zayn shouted, stomping as he pulled his shirt over his head. “Your fiancé is in labor!”

“Oh - right. You two, um, have fun. Bye!” He yelled, practically sprinting out of the building.

He clutched his hoodie close to his chest as he raced for the tube. They’d been sharing only one car and it had made far more sense for the pregnant of the two to keep it.

Luckily, it was late and the transportation was almost completely unoccupied and running on time. He leapt off the platform and ran up the stairs to their building only a few blocks away.

He burst through the front door, a bit sweaty and breathless to find his fiancé on the couch in practically the same state.

Harry was curled into a ball, hair tied up into the messiest bun in existence. In his clenched arms was one of the rainbow teddy bears they’d won for each other at a carnival when they were mere teenagers in love. They hadn’t intended them to become so symbolic and important, but they were. If ever a reason arose that they needed to be apart, they always took the assigned bear in their lovers’ place.

“Hey darlin’ how's it going?” Louis asked, winded as he knelt before the couch. Harry’s knuckles were white around the bear.

“I’ve been better,” he finally choked out and seemed to loosen his grip.

“Are they getting worse or just staying the same?” He asked, vividly remembering their trek to the hospital three weeks earlier only to be told it was a false alarm.

“Worse…” he answered. Louis nodded. “And closer.”

“How close?”

“Eight minutes.”

“Okay,” Louis kisses Harry’s sweaty forehead as he stood. “Are you able to tell me what else you need me to pack for you? Let’s go ahead and get to hospital BEFORE it’s an emergency.”

“I think,” he breathed out and handed Louis his phone open to the email app, “I think I sent myself the list last week.”

Sure enough, Louis found it and proceeded to bound about the flat at breakneck speed. It was mainly essentials and toiletries, as well as their Bluetooth speaker for Harry’s birth playlist which Louis thought was a bit silly - but would never say aloud.

“Louiiiiis,” an alarming whine came from the living room as he finished tossing Harry’s thirteen different hair products into the travel bag. He even gotten to the skin regimen yet. Louis grabbed the toothpaste and brush and dashed back into the living room. Harry was nowhere to be found and Louis found himself panicking. “We have to go.”

Louis tracked the pained voice to the doorframe between their back hallway and the baby’s nursery. “What’re you doing here?” He asked, kneeling next to his fiancé.

“Wanted one last look, then I got another…” he exhaled, tightening his grip around his bear, “fuck. Hold my hand.” Louis reached out without another word, grabbing Harry’s hand. The power of his larger fingers around the older boys’ was immeasurable - almost painful - but Louis said nothing as Harry’s knuckles went white again and shook. “They’re closer than five. They said that means we have to go now. We have to go now.”

“Okay baby, just breathe with me. Don’t panic.”

“Please stop telling me not to panic. I can feel how I want.”

“I know. Maybe I’m just saying it to myself. So,” he sighed, standing up and lifting his future husband up with him. "Let’s go have our baby.”

Harry stared at him for a mere moment before big, blubbery tears formed in his eyes.

“We’re gonna be daddies, Lou!” He sniffled and as he reached down to wipe his cheeks, he lowered himself just enough for Louis to place a quick kiss on his forehead.

“That we are, love. But we can’t waste any time, okay? You can cry in the car.” Louis picked up their bags, chuckling to himself. “They did tell us sex could start early labor.”

“Hey,” Harry grimaced a bit in pain, “this morning was your idea, wanker.”

They were in the hallway, halfway to the lift when Harry stopped.

“What?”

“I don’t want to risk the lift. I’d rather take the stairs.”

“...it’s twenty eight stories.”

“What if the lift breaks down? It happens in movies and television all the time.”

“Okay, babe,” Louis grunted in amused frustration, “yes, there’s a chance the lift can break down. But it’s just a chance. If you try to walk down twenty eight stories, it’s a GUARANTEE you’ll give birth before we get to the car. I promise you. Without drugs or doctors or anyone to help us if something goes wrong. So I’m begging you to let me call the shots here and let’s take the lift.”

Harry stated, angry but defeated.

“Fine. But if it breaks down I will literally never let you hear the end of it.”

Louis couldn’t help but smile as Harry waddled towards the lift.

“I’d expect nothing less.”

It wasn’t until Harry was nestled warm in the car that he suddenly gasped.

“My blanket!”

“What?” Louis moaned, his key in the ignition of their shared Fiat.

“Our blankets! From when we were-”

“Harry, you can’t be serious…”

“I want to have it when our baby enters the world!”

“Okay, fine I’ll go get it.” He sighed, leaving the car and its heater running. Soon, he emerged with the pink fleece hearts blanket rolled under his arm. As he entered the car, he felt his heart drop as he saw Harry’s hands clutching the giant bear in pain. “Hey,” he put a gentle hand on Harry’s neck. “Just breathe with me. It’s gonna be okay.”

Wordlessly, Harry exhaled and nodded. “Now let’s go!”

* * *

Twelve hours. Twelve god awful fucking hours. Harry had waddled in, holding Louis’ hand along with the blanket and bear. The doctors and nurses had immediately rushed him into a wheelchair and then a delivery room.

That had been twelve hours ago. Anne and Jay had been notified, both coming to visit but were down getting coffee in the cafeteria. Louis’s sisters were at school, along with Gemma.

Harry was taking the closest thing he could get to a nap, a bit tired from the mild painkillers they’d prescribed. Well, tired from that and having been in pretty aggressive labor for nearly fourteen hours. There were monitors attached to him tracking the baby’s heartbeat, which had the doctor annoyed because it had a strange echo, but they blamed it on the monitor.

Louis was watching some football match on mute, letting his fiancé sleep when the obstetrician walked in. He sat up, not sure if they were just coming in to check on Harry or if things were more pressing.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Tomlinson,” he greeted, nodding politely. _Fuck,_ he thought, pulling back the curtains to look at the sky. _Is it really the afternoon?_ The sun beat down on London, people on their lunch breaks going about their daily lives as if two lives weren’t about to become three quite soon in this tiny hospital room high above the city.

“Afternoon,” he sighed, turning off the television based on the serious look on the doctor’s face. He gestured to Harry, pressing a finger to his lips as if to beg the doctor to just let him sleep if it was possible. Hopefully, this would be one of the last child-free naps Harry would be taking for a while. “What can I do for you, Doctor?”

“Well,” he sighed and Louis was momentarily terrified, “so it would seem things are not progressing as we would hope.”

“Is everything okay, though? With Harry and the baby?”

“Oh yes, of course as far as we know - we have no reason to be worried. But we are concerned that the baby may fall into distress if things continued to be delayed.”

“So?”

“We were hoping you and your boyfriend-”

“Fiancé, actually.”

“Fiancé. My apologies.”

“It’s okay,” he smirked, grinning at his sleeping future husband. “Our wedding is actually supposed to take place at our flat on Saturday but I’m willing to bet he’ll want to reschedule with this new… development.” The doctor gave a small chuckle.

“He seems the type to surprise everyone. You never know,” he grinned gently before his face grew serious again. “If possible, I would like to wake Mr. Styles and discuss his options.”

“Okay,” he swayed over to Harry, brushing a few wayward hairs out of his face. “Hey? Babe?” He didn’t stir. “Harry?” There was a telltale pout, Harry grumpily not wanting to wake.

“No…”

“We’re at the hospital to have our baby. Remember, love?”

“I do remember - doesn’t mean I’m not tired,” he grumbled, slowly sitting up. “What’s going on?”

“The doctor wants to talk to us about everything.”

“Is everything okay? Is the baby okay?” Louis nodded, kissing Harry’s forehead.

“As I told your future husband, you’re not progressing as quickly as we’d hoped. Everything seems fine, but it can get dicey if we keep waiting and waiting. We were curious as to whether or not you two want to continue trying this the old fashioned way or volunteer for a cesarean.”

Louis looked from his bewildered child’s father to the doctor. “What would you recommend?”

“Well,” he shrugged, “a cesarean _is_ surgery, but it’s relatively risk-free if done properly. He’ll have a slightly longer recovery time, but so long as you’re willing to pitch it, it should be manageable.”

“Whatever he needs.” Harry was simply staring down at his belly, his thumbs nervously rubbing. “Would you mind giving us a few minutes to discuss this?”

“Of course. I’ll be right outside. If I get called, please let the nurses station know you’re ready for me.”

“Thank you,” Harry bid him goodbye. The doctor closed the door behind himself, leaving the two men alone.

“Well, what do you think?” Louis asked, sitting with him on the bed.

“What about you?”

“It’s your body, love.”

“It’s _our_ baby. What do you think?”

“I think you should do the C-section. I would hate for us to take a risk with the baby by waiting too long.” Harry nodded, pursing his lips tightly as his eyes started to well up. “Don’t cry, sweetheart.”

“I wanted to be married to you…” he barely managed before the tears fell, Harry quick to wiping his cheeks. “I ruined your proposal with my hormones and now I’m ruining our wedding. I’m ruining the birth. I’m ruining everything.”

“Hey,” Lou caught Harry’s chin with his finger, lifting it to meet his gaze. “Meeting and falling in love with you and moving in with you and getting engaged… all of those things were the best things to ever happen to me. You’re the _best_ thing to ever happen to me. You haven’t ruined anything. You make everything better.” Harry forced a weak smile.

“Still… in here giving birth to your bastard-” he chuckled as Louis burst out laughing. “Out of wedlock like a common harlot.” He and Louis laughed together, the awareness that these were their last few moments together before they became parents dawning on them.

Louis looked around the room, taking in the moment. The sunlight was streaming in between the blinds and curtains. He could hear their baby’s heartbeat along with Harry’s. His fiancé was beautiful, hair thrown up in a messy ponytail and a glassy fatigue in his eyes. Louis was still clad in his old black skating shirt and acid-washed jeans and dirty sneakers and messy hair that needed a cut, Harry in a white hospital gown.

“Hold on. I have an idea.”

“Oh dear…” Harry rolled his eyes.

“Shut it!” Louis cackled. “Here, give us your engagement ring.”

“Excuse me?” The pregnant Brit balked.

“Just let me surprise you again.”

“Louis, be careful…” he said, beginning to twist the jewelry off of his finger.

“If I was good at being careful, Hazza, we wouldn’t be in this situation would we?” He spat and Harry laughed, handing him the ring. “Okay, hold on.” He stood up and set his phone down, classical music filling the room. “I actually memorized it, so… ahem,” Louis turned to face Harry, the ring between his fingers.

“I, Louis William Tomlinson, take you, Harry Edward Styles, to be my husband.” Harry’s mouth fell open. “To have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor and cherish ‘til death us do part. In the presence of…” he looked around, “that weird blood pressure monitor, I make this vow.” Harry was smiling - crying again - happily this time.

“You memorized it?!”

“Didn’t wanna mess it up. I mean, Niall is officiating. Covering all me angles.”

“I, Harry… Can you… can you help me?”

“Of course. Repeat after me. I, Harry Edward Styles, take you, Louis William Tomlinson, to be my husband.”

“I, Harry Edward Styles, take you, Louis William Tomlinson, to be my husband.”

“To have and to hold from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer.”

“To have and to hold from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer.”

“In sickness and in health, to love, honor and to cherish ‘til death us do part.”

“In sickness and in health, to love, honor and to cherish ‘til death us do part.”

“And I solemnly vow to blow you, Louis, at least twice a week.”

“Louis!” Harry laughed, smacking him. “This is serious!”

“So am I!” Harry stared. “Okay fine…”

“How about ...I solemnly vow to always make sure you feel appreciated? In some way?”

“You already do that, but sure.” he shrugged, reaching out and taking Harry’s left hand. “Alright. I’m still working on this part. Harry, I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage. With my soul I honour you, all that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you. With this ring, I thee wed.”

Harry was crying as Louis slid his engagement ring on his left ring finger.

“Oh - what about you? Your ring is at the apartment!”

“Um, here just give me one of yours. It’s only symbolic. I’ll give it back when I put mine on.” Harry nodded, pulling the cheap Lion replica ring off of his finger. “Louis, I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage. With my soul I honour you…” He struggled to remember the words Louis had just spoken.

“...And all that I am-”

“All that I am, I give to you, and all that I have I share with you. With this ring, I thee wed.”

“That was good!”

“Yeah, I was paying attention,” he scrunched his nose.

“Okay, so, by the power vested in me by I said so, I now pronounce us husbands. We should kiss!” He announced, and Harry leaned forward, kissing him. His lips were soft and moist with tears and tenderized from having been chewed on in stress. There was still no sound except the music coming from Louis’ phone, the beeping of monitors and the whirring of their baby’s heartbeat.

“Well, it may not be legal, but you and I will always know.” Louis whispered, their foreheads still touching. “We can always still do the ceremony on Saturday or reschedule things. So, _my husband,_ what do you wanna do?”

“I dunno. I mean, we’ll have a baby…”

“No,” Louis giggled, “I mean about the baby. You wanna keep going or-”

“Let’s do the C-section. I just wanna meet our baby.”

“Let’s start our family then,” Louis declared, standing.

* * *

It took far longer than Harry had assumed for them to prep him and numb him for the surgery.

They had elected the clear sheet, allowing them to see their baby as soon as possible. Louis was sanitized head to toe, including puffy blue nets over his shoes and hair and a blue robe covering his clothes. Harry’s hair was covered as well.

He’d never been good with surgery or blood, but his queasiness and uneasiness subsided the moment he saw it. After cutting through several layers of his husband’s belly, there it was. The tiniest hand he’d ever seen, pink and wet and reaching out into the world. Time and the world stopped, his hand clasped around Harry.

“What? Can you see them?” Harry barked and he nodded.

“A hand. I see their hand.”

“And?” He gave Harry’s hand a squeeze.

“It’s just a hand. But it’s the most amazing hand I’ve ever seen, Hazza.” He looked down, Harry’s eyes glistening as he looked up. The doctor’s gloved hand went back into his husband for a mere moment, wrapping and cradling and slowly lifting out the baby, cupping the back of his head. Louis felt his heart completely stop as he beheld the tiny, incredibly bloody and messy infant, their arms reaching out into the air for anything. Between the baby’s legs was a tiny little nub.

“Well, daddies, we got ourselves a healthy little boy!” The doctor cheered and Harry lost it. Tears streamed back down his face the moment the baby’s cries filled the air, reminding them of a petite, angry duck. His cry was almost shaking as the nurses worked quickly to clean him off. It was only when Louis’ eyes went back to the doctors that he felt his blood run cold. He was staring. Simply staring into Harry, his eyes widened in shock, along with a fellow nurse.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Oh my God,” a nurse whispered under her breath.

“What the fuck is happening?!”

“What’s wrong? Is he okay?”

The nurse nodded.

“No. He’s, erm, he’s fine. The baby is fine. It’s just…erm-”

“WHAT?” Louis barked, his eyes darkening angrily.

“I, erm, we don’t quite know to say this, but, erm… there is another baby in here.”

Harry’s eyes shot back open as Louis felt his heart drop into his butt.

“Excuse me?!”

“What?!” Louis screamed, suddenly feeling dizzy. “How did you miss that?!”

“It’s same sac so he was probably hiding behind his brother! Or vice versa. Remember when I saw what looked like a third hand? That’s probably what it was.”

Harry’s mouth hung open. “Two?”

Louis and the doctor nodded.

“There’s been two the whole time?!”

“That’s typically how these things work, babe,” he replied.

“LOUIS SHUT UP!” The doctors and nurses got to work, the husbands watching as they removed another perfect, albet somewhat tiny little boy. Louis cut the cords. Cords. Plural. Two. He had two sons. Two sons with gorgeous blue eyes - although he knew that could change.

One very shy and hiding the whole time. Harry had always kept the ultrasounds shockingly short, afraid to reveal the gender. Little had they know another baby was hiding the entire time. His heart was racing. They’d only been prepped for one. Everything was set up for one. They didn’t even have two car seats! He pushed those thoughts away as the doctor spoke.

“This is probably why you went into labor early,” the doctor explained as he slowly closed Harry up and the nurses finished cleaning the boys. “Your sons were running out of room.”

“Also why you got bigger than some others,” Louis commented and was met with a slap on his leg. “WHAT? That lady at Nando’s asked you if you were having twins and you cried! And she was right, love.”

“Fair enough,” Harry looked up as they finished closing the incision.

“Alright, daddies, ready to meet your bab _IES?”_ The nurse asked them, putting the emphasis on the plurals. They nodded, each accepting a newborn. In Louis’ arm was the firstborn, Harry accepting the “baby” of the family. They were tiny and wet and warm and suddenly oddly calm, each burrowing into the chest of their father. They had blankets and diapers and the littlest socks and blue and pink striped hats, but each was open to later allow for skin-to-skin. Their family.

* * *

Quiet, ecstatic chaos had followed once the family was allowed to see the babies. Jay and Anne had completely freaked out and were now out about London, securing the necessary extras. Apparently, Lottie and the sisters were at their flat, taking pictures of all the baby’s clothes so they could match. Harry’s mother had promised to return with a second car seat for the baby before the day was over.

They had named them John and Anchor, after their mothers, Johannah and Anne. Louis had tried to argue that Anchor was a silly name for a human being, but all it took was a pathetic pout from his secret husband to seal the deal. John was the first born, Anchor the second born - a sneaky shy baby who had hidden from everyone until today.

Harry was asleep again, painkillers numbing his incisions as well as finally being able to sleep on his stomach, which he had sorely missed in his months of pregnancy. Louis held John, who was sleeping as well, as the younger baby, Anchor, was with the nurses to have his oxygen levels tested when the door opened.

He looked up, surprised to see Zayn.

“Oy! Hey mate!” He whisper-yelled, trying not to wake up the new father in the hospital bed. “What’re you doing here?”

“Come to see the new daddies,” he smirked, shutting the door gently behind himself. “How is everything?”

“Great. It’s a boy,” he responded, holding John up.

“God, he’s got Harry’s brows.”

“I know, right? So intense.” He chuckled, the two of them staring down at the newborn whose face was scrunched into an icy glare as he slept. “His name is John. Are you not at work?”

“Nah, they got Jade and Jesy on tonight.” Zayn reached out, accepting the sleeping, swaddled baby into his arms. He was the older brother of three girls, so babies were a second nature to him, however odd it was to see the tattooed chainsmoking bartender coddling a tiny infant.

“He looks amazing, mate. Good job The both of you.”

“Eh. I just contributed the batter. Harry did all the baking.”

“Aw… that’s a really gross thing to say, Lou,” Zayn replied, a wide smile on his face as he spoke. His thin, dark fingers cascaded over John’s face as a nurse knocked gently.

“Come in!” Louis responded as quietly as he could, ecstatic to see Anchor in her arms. He was awake, looking around the room with his gigantic blue eyes. His stare wasn’t nearly as serious and intense as John, and Louis giggled a bit when he saw Zayn’s jaw drop.

“Everything is absolutely perfect. We just want to make sure they’re both feeding properly before you lot leave.” Louis nodded, reaching out to accept his younger son.

“Mate, wot in the HELL is this?!”

“Oh,” he smiled as he made eye contact with Anchor, still a bit surreal to see his own eyes staring back up at him.

“Well, Hazza kept the ultrasounds short because he didn’t want to know the sex and somehow we missed an entire baby.”

Zayn’s mouth still hung agape.

“WOT?”

“Yeah, this is Anchor.” An arched eyebrow from his coworker. “I picked John, after me mum, Harry wanted to name him after his mum but apparently ‘Anthony’ or ‘Andrew’ or something was boring.”

“They identical?” Louis nodded. “Talk about a well-kept secret,” Zayn joked, looking between the babies.

“Speaking of secrets,” the new father whispered only to see Zayn begin shaking his head. “So, erm, how long has the business with Liam been going on?”

“Mate, come on…”

“We have to talk about it! I literally caught you with his dick in your mouth,” Louis spat in a whisper as Zayn shot a quick glance at Harry to make sure he was still asleep. “I’m not judging. I’m just… surprised. Didn’t know you were… into blokes.”

“It’s been,” he sighed, “a very slow, very new development. Still figuring things out for meself actually.”

“Well we _are_ friends. So you can always talk to me about stuff like that.” Zayn simply just stared at the baby, a guilty secretive smile on his face. “So how long’s that been going on?”

“Hmm…” Zayn smirked.

“Come on!”

“About a month,” Louis gasped, playfully putting his hand to his chest. “But that wasn’t the first time it happened.”

“Wot do you mean?”

“Well,” John started to stir in Zayn’s arms, and Louis took the moment to set Anchor down in the bassinet next to Harry, seeing as he was the happier of the two. “Do you remember when we went out for Harry’s eighteenth? Took him to the pub?”

Louis laughed, a little bit too loud this time. “Believe it or not, Zayn, I do _not_ remember that night.”

“Well… a gorgeous, funny, fit bloke wound up taking me home. I think Harry was throwing up by that point so I just texted you guys that I was tired. I lied.”

“What does that have to do with-”

“That guy was Liam. It was kind of my first time… y’know, doin' things with... a man. And I didn’t really know what to make of it and I panicked and just… left in the morning. Didn’t leave me number or anything.”

“Oh.”

“So six weeks ago, he walks in and he’s my boss and we recognized each other. We tried to move past it, but last month, it was slow and you left early and I was closing and he,” a furious blush rushed to Zayn’s cheeks. “He locks up and grabs two beers from inventory and asks me if I want to just have a chat about everything.”

“Did you guys fuck?! At work?”

“No!” Zayn seemed genuinely offended, chastening Louis. “We did wind up makin’ out a little bit, though, which was fun.”

“Well you seem happy. So congrats, I guess.”

Zayn’s smile was inescapably wide. “It is kind of exciting - being able to finally talk to someone about it.” Harry began to stir awake in the bed. “But seriously, Tommo, you can’t tell anyone else. If management finds out, Liam and I could both lose our jobs.”

“Your secret’s safe with me. So long as he keeps up his end of the deal and I get my parental leave.”

“He’ll keep his word,” Zayn confirmed, standing up. “You think he wants to risk losing _this?”_ He gestured flamboyantly over his body, eliciting another guffaw from Lou.

“Zayn?” Harry’s voice was soft and exhausted. “What’re you doing here?”

“Just came to see the babies. I’ll get out of your hair. Congratulations! Can’t believe you were hiding two in there. You didn’t get that big.”

Harry smiled.

“Knew I liked you,” he accepted a hug from Zayn before he left. Harry waited just a few seconds before turning excitedly towards Louis. “So Zayn is fucking your new boss?!”

**\- THE END -**


End file.
